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DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
FROM
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
1966
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one segment of the population to dissolve the political bands
which might connect them with a lawless political party, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are
created equal - even in the State of Mississippi and even before
the Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi.
The Platform of the Democratic Party f ;he State of Mississippi, as it was draw;: up when the Party held its last convention, July ,8 1964 stands for the principles of White
Supremacy^ Separation of the Races and the resulting "Separate
but UNequal" life. The present office-holders were elected only
after adherence to these principles. The present candidates will
be required to subscribe to these principles.
The laws of Mississippi (Section 3129 Miss. Code Ann.)
require:
"No person shall be eligible to participate
in any primary election unless he intends to
support tlie nominations made in the primary in
which he participates has been in accord with
the party holding such primary within the two
preceding years and is in accord with the
statement of the principles of the party holding such primary which principles shall have
been declared by the state convention of the
party holding the primary "
We, the undersigned, do declare that if successful in the
Primary, we will continue to not support racist principles.
Rather we shall fight to make the Democratic Party of the State
of Mississippi a DEMOCRATIC party which adheres to.the principles
of the National Democratic Party and the Constitution of the
United States.
We the undersigned, do declare that if unsuccessful in
the Primary we will not support segregationist candidates.
Rather we shall run as Independsnts in the November General
Elections to achieve our aims.
WE REFUSE TO COMPLY WITH SECTION 3129 OF THE MISSISSIPPI
CODE ANN.
APRIL 4. 1966
CLIFTON WHITESr - Candidate for United States Sonattr-
RALTHUS HAYES - Candidate for United States Congress
2nd Congressional District
EDWIN KING - Candidate for United States Congress
3rd Congressional District
CLINTON COLLIER - Candidate for United States Congress
4th Congressional District
LAWRENCE GUYOT - Candidate for United States Congress
5th Congressional District

Though many of these documents are undated, this folder deals exclusively with MFDP elections, and legal actions relating to those elections, from 1963-1966. Five MFDP candidates (Whitley, King, Collins, Guyot, and Hayes) pledge NOT to uphold the segregationist principles of the Democratic Party of Mississippi in their 1966 primary election; they supplement their "Declaration of Independence" with Democratic Party of Mississippi quotations, their own biographical sketches, and a rebuttal of the Party's "Section 3129" which makes candidates pledge to support those primary winners who support segregationist policies. The folder also includes the following: 1966 Mississippi congressional district population and voter registration statistics by race with a notation about which counties now have more African American registered voters than white ones. Clifton Whitley's reply to James O. Eastland on school desegregation. An MFDP pamphlet outlining its 1966 electoral intentions. A list of the Mississippi precincts won or tied by MFDP candidates in the June 7, 1966, primary election. A 1966 fundraising letter from the New York Committee for the MFDP with an explanation of the voting situation in Sen. James Eastland's Sunflower County, Mississippi. The MFDP's Washington office announces a public information service to be handled by Sanford Leigh. A court order to reapportion the Mississippi state legislature. A blank Clay County MFDP membership card. Civil rights worker John Buffington discusses the importance of upcoming elections in Clay County in 1966 and urges increased funding for them given that "the white liberal support of the North has been cut down a lot." Attorney Bronstein's letter and formal legal complaint (Connor v. Johnson) discusses the elimination of three MFDP candidates from the ballot due to an allegedly insufficient number of valid signatures on their electoral petitions. A 1967 legal decision addresses this issue and is followed by another, more limited, complaint by Bronstein. The plaintiffs' reapportionment plan in Connor v. Johnson. A 1967 "Interlocutory Decree" rejecting this reapportionment plan. The State of Mississippi's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Connnor v. Johnson. A draft platform for Ralthus Hayes' 1966 congressional candidacy. Pamphlets and flyers advertising Emma Sander's, Clifton Whitley's, and Dock Drummond's November 1966 congressional candidacies with instructions for new voters. A chart of votes for MFDP candidates in official elections between 1962 and 1966. A 1967 list of MFDP candidates. Clifton v. Johnson asks whether the Voting Rights Act permits the elimination of certain candidates from the ballot. The case of Whitley v. Williams before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking enforcement of Voting Right Act provisions. The defendants' rebuttal in that case. A SCEF resolution to the Democratic National Convention of 1968, reminding them that state delegations should be representative of all the people in their states. A SNCC press release on African Americans trying to run for municipal offices in Mississippi. A form letter asking for new elections to be held shortly after the Voting Rights Act is passed, as African Americans had not been able to vote in elections before then, so the current elected officials do not represent them. Spartacists call for a Labor Party and urge the MFDP to join it as an alternative to the national Democratic Party which, they say, does not have their interests at heart. Lawrence Guyot informs people that tape recordings are available on the subject of the Congressional Challenge and the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union. A progress report on legal decisions regarding elections in Sunflower County also reveals that an MFDP candidate for public office, Clinton Collier, was badly beaten in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Lawrence Guyot thanks supporters for donating money for a truck to the Clarke County MFDP which can be used to transport people to the courthouse to register to vote. R. L. T. Smith announces his candidacy for office sometime before November 1963. An undated list of MFDP's "new executive committee" members. An MFDP pamphlet called "Issues in 1968 for Mississippi" (land reform; economic rights; peace in Vietnam). Handwritten excerpts from major newspapers and news magazines about Charles Evers' congressional candidacy in a special election. A 1968 memo urges support for five militants at Texas State University who were arrested for inciting a riot and charged with murdering a police officer, though they had no weapons. A list of 12 acts and resolutions "designed to discriminate against Negro candidates or voters" that were passed by the 1966 Mississippi legislature. May 1968 press releases announce that the MFDP will challenge the seating of the Mississippi state delegation at the National Democratic Convention of 1968, and that they will be holding their own county and state conventions. The MFDP's argument in Whitley v. John Bell Williams; the State of Mississippi's rebuttal; the District Court's opinion; notice of the case being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. A 1968 MFDP statement of its principles. Lists of potential, actual, and alternate MFDP delegates to the 1968 Democratic National Convention. A summer 1968 press release about the Loyal Democrats of Mississippi's state convention: the Loyal Democrats are described as an umbrella organization embracing the MFDP, the Young Democratic Clubs of Mississippi, Mississippi's NAACP, some teacher and labor organizations, and Masons. The members of the Loyal Democrats' steering committee and a fact sheet on the group are also here. A legal brief filed by the Loyal Democrats, challenging the seating of the delegation from the Democratic Party of Mississippi at the Democratic National Convention of 1968, provides examples of continued official white obstructionism to African American electoral participation following the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and gives the background of the Loyal Democrats. A December 1968 MFDP press release announcing that Channing Emery Phillips ("first Black man in the History of the United States to be nominated for President of the United States") will address the Party's state convention. A 1969 fact sheet on the MFDP. A March 1969 MFDP statement on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling supporting Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in the case of Whitley vs. John Bell Williams and several others. Supreme Court Justices' opinions on this and related cases. The 1971 draft platform of the Mississippi State Democratic Party with a list of candidates for local office: this platform is quite a contrast with previous state Democratic Platforms, probably because the majority of white Democrats had become Republicans by this time.

Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
FROM
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
1966
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one segment of the population to dissolve the political bands
which might connect them with a lawless political party, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should
declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are
created equal - even in the State of Mississippi and even before
the Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi.
The Platform of the Democratic Party f ;he State of Mississippi, as it was draw;: up when the Party held its last convention, July ,8 1964 stands for the principles of White
Supremacy^ Separation of the Races and the resulting "Separate
but UNequal" life. The present office-holders were elected only
after adherence to these principles. The present candidates will
be required to subscribe to these principles.
The laws of Mississippi (Section 3129 Miss. Code Ann.)
require:
"No person shall be eligible to participate
in any primary election unless he intends to
support tlie nominations made in the primary in
which he participates has been in accord with
the party holding such primary within the two
preceding years and is in accord with the
statement of the principles of the party holding such primary which principles shall have
been declared by the state convention of the
party holding the primary "
We, the undersigned, do declare that if successful in the
Primary, we will continue to not support racist principles.
Rather we shall fight to make the Democratic Party of the State
of Mississippi a DEMOCRATIC party which adheres to.the principles
of the National Democratic Party and the Constitution of the
United States.
We the undersigned, do declare that if unsuccessful in
the Primary we will not support segregationist candidates.
Rather we shall run as Independsnts in the November General
Elections to achieve our aims.
WE REFUSE TO COMPLY WITH SECTION 3129 OF THE MISSISSIPPI
CODE ANN.
APRIL 4. 1966
CLIFTON WHITESr - Candidate for United States Sonattr-
RALTHUS HAYES - Candidate for United States Congress
2nd Congressional District
EDWIN KING - Candidate for United States Congress
3rd Congressional District
CLINTON COLLIER - Candidate for United States Congress
4th Congressional District
LAWRENCE GUYOT - Candidate for United States Congress
5th Congressional District

Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.